Wednesday, June 25, 2008

How can Apple and AT&T put a relatively low pricetag of just $199 on the new 3G iPhone? According to research firm iSuppli, the answer is in the low cost of the components. iSuppli estimates the new 3G iPhone will cost just $173 to manufacture, which is significantly lower than rivals such as HTC's Touch Diamond (priced at $785) and Nokia's N96 (priced at $855).

iSuppli says that the most expensive component on the 3G iPhone is the 8 gigabytes of NAND flash memory storage, which the firm estimates costs $22.80. The second pricey element is the touchscreen, which costs about $20. In all, the chips and handset components add up to $164. iSuppli tacks on another $9 for assembly for a total of $173.